The Austin Symphony presents the second concert of its 97th concert season on October 19 & 20 that features ASO concertmaster, Jessica Mathaes (MAH-tis). Maestro Peter Bay and the Austin Symphony present an all-Russian night featuring works by Stravinsky, Khachaturian, Liadov and Borodin. Austin Asset Management and Silicon Labs proudly sponsor this concert.
PROGRAM
Stravinsky - Scherzo à la Russe
Khachaturian - Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Liadov - The Enchanted Lake, Op. 62
Borodin - Symphony No. 2 in B Minor
Maestro Bay opens the evening's offerings with Igor Stravinsky's Scherzo à la Russe. The piece was originally composed for the Paul Whiteman band of six saxophones, eight strings, harp, piano, brass, woodwinds and percussion. The ASO will play the orchestral version. The piece debuted on a broadcast in October 1944, conducted by Whiteman. Francois Poulenc dubbed it "Petrushka 1944."
After Stravinsky's opening salvo, concertmaster Jessica Mathaes will take center stage for her debut solo performance with the orchestra. In the Fall of 2005, Jessica Mathaes became the youngest concertmaster in the history of the Austin Symphony. She has appeared in concerts throughout the United States, Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, and has performed with the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Ballet, the San Antonio Symphony, the Colorado Music Festival, the Des Moines Metro Opera, and the European Music Festival.
In this concert, Ms. Mathaes performs the violin concerto of the leading Armenian composer of the 20th century, Aram Khachaturian. Composed during the summer of 1940, the Khachaturian concerto continues the lineage of large-scale Romantic violin concertos, like the works of such composers as Tchaikovsky.
This all-Russian evening continues after a brief intermission with a descriptive fairy-tale piece "The Enchanted Lake" by Anatol Liadov, followed by the Symphony No. 2 in B minor of Alexander Borodin. Borodin is probably best known for his opera, Prince Igor. However, the second of his three symphonies occupied him intermittently for seven years, and is an attractive and very Russian work, and an addition to nationalist symphonic repertoire.
Concertgoers can enjoy "Concert Conversations" with Bob Buckalew at 7:10 pm in the hall. These free discussions provide an in-depth look at the composers and works being performed, including commentary on the social climate in which they were composed. -- www.austinsymphony.org
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